Reign Over Me and Blades of Glory

I have to admit that I have been watching films lately for the purpose of entertainment, no interpretation needed, just sheer enjoyment. This week we watched two interesting films: Reign Over Me and Blades of Glory.

Reign Over Me

Plot Summary provided in yahoo movies:

Former college roomates Charlie Fineman and Alan Johnson meet up again by chance on a Manhattan street corner. Five years after losing his family on 9/11, Charlie--once a successful dentist--has retreated from his life, and Alan is stunned to see the changes in his formerly gregarious friend. At the same time, Alan--who should be enjoying his beautiful wife, children and career--is overwhelmed by his responsibilities. Their rekindled relationship becomes a lifeline for the two men, who are both in need of a trusted friend at this pivotal moment in their lives.

I've shunned away from 9/11 films mainly because it's about the 9/11 disaster and I really am not emotionally prepared for that kind of drama in the middle of the week. But then it's Adam Sandler. So I consented to watching the film as I have always been supportive of Adam Sandler films no matter how odd they are. I didn't expect, though, to see him do drama after Punch Drunk Love. Heard of it? I don't blame you if you haven't.

Adam was aptly casted for the role of Charlie. His playful character gave the movie some light comedy even on heart-piercing scenes. The camera angles were not really meant to highlight his expressions but one can tell by the way he delivered his lines that he had imbibed Charlie's predisposition. The movie tackled on the painful issue of letting go of the past and moving on. Something I wish some people I know should do when they get out of heartbreaking experiences *winks*


Blades of Glory

Plot Summary provided in yahoo movies:

Perhaps nowhere in sports is the marriage of athleticism and grace more evident than in the arena of world champion pairs figure skating--the lifts, the jumps, the routines. It⿿s an elegant world, a rarefied universe, a noble place populated by the crème de la crème of skating elite. Well, it used to be. When the macho, swaggering Chazz Michael Michaels takes to the rink, he is the rock star of the arena, leaving a trail of thrashed ice and shrieking female fans in his wake. The only competitor who can match Michaels⿿ scores is the driven former child prodigy, Jimmy MacElroy. Spotted as a youth executing triple lutzes on the frozen pond of an orphanage, MacElroy was whisked away to days of endless training, and now stands as the picture of poise, the personification of the highest ideals of the men⿿s sport. Michaels and MacElroy have met in finals rounds before, but their latest head-to-head at the World Championships--when they tie for first--is more than either one can bear, and their longstanding rivalry erupts into a no-holds-barred fight. The ensuing brawl not only sets fire to the World Championship⿿s helpless mascot, but lands both athletes in hot water: Chazz and Jimmy are called before the sport⿿s governing board, stripped of their gold medals and banned from the sport for life. Now, three-and-a-half years later, both men are still trying to find their way in a world without competitive skating. Michaels has devolved into a drunken party machine, skating as a costumed evil wizard in a kiddie ice review, and MacElroy has been banished to the shoe department of a chain sporting goods store. But then, inspiration (in the form of an over-friendly, former stalker of Jimmy⿿s) strikes, and a loophole emerges. To skate again, all Chazz and Jimmy have to do is set aside their long festering hatred of one another and join forces--as the first male/male figure skating pair to compete in the history of the sport.

Waaaaa! Will was his usual Saturday Night Live self! After Night at the Roxbury, and Superstar I have been watching him humiliate himself in films over and over again. I liken the guy to our very own Jimmy Santos except that he's a whole lot funnier and very much better in the field of acting. The movie is my second Jon Heder film and well, he's as effective as he was in The Benchwarmers.

Yes, it is hilarious with all those skating stunts and the funny coined term "boobie shake". Which just makes me think... how much enjoyment would I get had the movie been Filipino made... naaaaaah!

Homer, Bean and Gus

Three movies I've watched lately: The Simpsons Movie, Mr. Bean's Holiday and The Benchwarmers.

The Simpsons Movie. True to its TV reputation, the movie has all the wit and humor that adults will find amusing and children funny. I've read from somewhere that it got the ire of some Catholics on the scene (oops! spoilers) where Homer was leafing through the pages of the bible hoping to find answers. I liked the movie's rendition of the Titanic scene where the barge sunk drowning the band, the ala-Brokeback Mountain scene, the Itchy/ Hillary '08 campaign slogan, President S and the Bambi and birds ensemble. There were some scenes, though funny, should be watched with parental guidance as it might provoke some false courage or misguided truths in our little ones especially on the issue of taking responsibility for your actions, responding to dares and resolving family matters.



Mr. Bean Holiday. Of course it's full of Mr. Bean antics! But I watched it with my relatives and we laughed our hearts out for the whole duration of the movie (they because they thought it funny while I was just happy to oblige). Rowan Atkinson always portrays his role with so much mastery that I sometimes wonder if he's able to see himself apart from his Bean character. (Maybe we should ask Teddy). I didn't like the plot as much as The Simpson's Movie, though. Maybe because I have a son and I could kill if that had happened to him. I wasn't able to follow much of the movie because of the French lines. I'm not sure if there's a translation when you watch it in the big screen but my copy didn't have any so we had to just assume we understood what the muttering in French was. The movie featured many different faces of Paris and Cannes that left me gaping in awe. Wish I could visit those places in this lifetime. The movie was palatable but I couldn't appreciate it more than it's first installment - Bean the movie with Peter MacNicol (Ally McBeal, Numbers). That one I laughed my heart out to the very end. I pretty much enjoyed seeing Willem Dafoe portray his character as an egocentric filmmaker. Some people are just so like that... Anyways, the movie was simple as it is...no hidden meanings, no intricate connections.


Benchwarmers. Just like any Happy Madison movie, Benchwarmers tackles the issue of outcasts who also deserve their chance to belong. Rob Schneider was unusually serious in this film. I didn't quite expect Rob to produce those realistic teary eyes in one of the scenes. I wonder if he'd ever star in a drama.... David Spade, on the other hand, donned his usual Joe Dirt image. The movie, by my standards, is half a notch higher than Mr. Bean's Holiday. I wouldn't recommend watching it with children though. Not with the overgrown man in skimpy bikini, the gay hunk cuddling a midget and a sunscreen-eating albino, add to that the booger-obsessed character portrayed in the film. One catchy phrase hit me on the film, when the bullies were discussing about what to do with the outcasts: "what will happen to us if there are no nerds like them?" also reminded me of the order given on The Simpsons Movie about assembling 100 tough men and 200 soft men so that the tough men will look tougher. So what happens to bullies when there's no one to bully anymore? Interesting eh?

All in all, I had fun watching all three. No mental exercise needed there, just sheer amusement.

Coming Home by John Legend

Coming Home lyrics found on the Complete Album Lyrics website :

A father waits upon a son
A mother prays for his return
I just called to see
If you still have a place for me
We know that like took us apart
But you're still within my heart
I go to sleep and feel your spirit next to me
I'll make it home again
I pray you'll fall in love again
Just say you'll entertain the possibility
I learned enough from my mistakes
Learned from all I didn't say
Won't you wait for me

It may be long to get me there
It feels like I've been everywhere
But someday I'll be coming home
Round and round the world will spin
Oh, the circle never ends
So you know that I'll be coming home

We fight to stay alive
But somebody's got to die
It's so strange to me
A new year, a new enemy
Another soldier gone to war

Another story told before
Now it's told again
It seems the wars will never end
But we'll make it home again
Back where we belong again
We're holding on to when
We used to dare to dream
We pray we live to see
Another day in history
Yes we still believe

It may be long to get me there
It feels like I've been everywhere
But someday I'll be coming home
Round and round the world will spin
Oh, the circle never ends
So you know that I'll be coming home

I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming
You know that I'll be coming home

It may be long to get me there
It feels like I've been everywhere
But someday I'll be coming home
Round and round the world will spin
Oh, the circle never ends
So you know that I'll be coming home

Been listening to the song for days now and it tears my heart to think of how painful it must be to send your son to fight for a war that you don't even believe in. To be constantly waiting for updates, be it good or bad. And to not lose hope despite the odds.

Tonight, we say a prayer for all the soldiers out there who are also sons, daughters and parents who look forward to coming home to their families. We pray for a peaceful resolution to political conflicts and cultural struggles that tear nations and peoples apart. We also say a prayer for the families that they left behind. May their unwavering faith carry them on to better days.

Godspeed.

Love Autopsy

Love Autopsy

Figuring out you and me
Is like doing a love autopsy
They could operate all day long
And never figure out what went wrong
Love autopsy
Love autopsy

ah ah ah ah

What went wrong

I have always been baffled by the love choices of some people I know.

It took sometime before Friend A said yes to the guy courting her. That, after consulting everyone about what they think of him and them as a couple. Then after years of being together, they just had to end it because of, well, the most commonly used ground for divorce - irreconcilable differences.

Friend B broke off a long distance love affair and opened her heart to another. Then after awhile, she moved to another place and placed herself in another long distance love affair which went okay for a while until it succumbed to the same fate as her previous relationship.

Friend C fell in love with guys who attached themselves to "him" because of his connections and the little wealth that he had. Then he found someone who accepted him at a time when he lost everything he had. Now they're life-long partners.

Friend D had her eyes and heart for a guy who claimed to feel the same for her. But the guy never made any move to formalize any relationship. And when she found herself to the liking of another, he gets angry, confronts her and express his amorous feelings for her. Everybody else anticipated the much-awaited happy ending, but it never happened. The profession of love became mere words that never really found its way of manifesting. Then finally Friend D got over the guy, moved on and found love in another.

Friend E met a guy through the internet, corresponded with him for more than a year. Been promised a meeting that never materialized. Yet, she allows herself to be emotionally involved with the guy, hanging on to his words, believing his promises. The "relationship" has been going on for two years now, and she claims she's happy.

And these cases are not even cover the spectrum of extreme love choices out there. So there's really no way of telling, eh?

Good luck!

Numancia, Aklan

Bonni, the hubby's long time friend invited us to his daughter's christening and his mom's bday celebration in their hometown, Numancia. I've heard a lot of good stories from the hubby about their fishing escapades and their drinking sprees with friends. And I was told that there's a cool resort nearby which we could visit.

Here are the 10 things that I brought home with me:

1. First 4-hour bus ride with Boz.
   
2. Meeting Bonni's folks, see his kid and sleep in their house.
3. Waking up in the morning and smelling the salty air of the fishponds.
4. Marveling at nature right at their front door.
5. Meeting a few more friends.
6. There was an army truck parked near the church where the christening was so Boz got excited about having his picture taken on it for souvenir.
7. Boz gained a new alias. They called him Jumong and he's been calling himself that whenever strangers ask him his name.
8. An unfortunate circumstance presented an opportunity for me to meet and to know better Bonni's relatives. Especially after they all helped out and showed their concern when Boz's middle finger got stuck on the swing door's jamb and turn black and blue. It was a very horrible sight! But Boz and I was able to manage well, thanks to them.
9. Red Balloon on Board. We accidentally had to bring home a red balloon after a fellow guest, who took the same bus ride home as ours left it when they went down, two towns before we did. The inconvenience of traveling with a child and luggage, plus a balloon! But what the heck, my son wanted it!
10. Boz had a great time playing with Kate and Issa, Bonni's neices. Like any other kids, they were like all over the place - playing, bumping into each other, crying, playing again, jumping up and down any cushioned surface.

We didn't get a chance to go to the resort, they've been telling me about but that's okay. I was already content with the sights and sounds of the fishpond and lakeside view from their house. Alas, it was time to go home. Boz cried a little, not quite willing to go back to the mundane routine of daily life. I was a bit sad too. Life and work has been a drag these days and I've been drawn to opportunities for adventure and travel to counter the lasting boredom of the ordinary life.

Check out our pictures here:

www.flickr.com roxieyap's Numancia, Aklan photoset